Interlude

I have come to realize many, many things about myself and about my life while I have been in Europe. I have been looking forward to being here, but there were a few things that I did not really anticipate.

1) How much I really, really miss my mother. She is always there for me, even when I just need a hug and a kiss on the forehead. She isn't here for me, but I still have to be a big girl, anyway.

2) I really can do all sorts of adult things without the help of anyone else... Like I can ask for directions, check into an airport, and go to an entirely different country all by me onesy. That's crazy. I've been relying on other people for that kind of stuff for my whole life... and I can do it myself. Doesn't sound very big... but there you go.

3) Getting There isn't nearly as good as Going There.

4) I'm really good company to myself, when I need to be.

5) Even when you don't understand a word someone is saying to you, their voice and their gestures and expressions tell you all you need to know about what they are saying.

6) When people are having a conversation around you in a conversation you don't know, they don't expect you to participate or understand. This leaves you free to do all sorts of stuff like check out the cute boy on the other side of the table, examine your cuticles, or hum quietly to yourself. It's great!

7) When I have been talking to people whose first language is not English, I start to dumb down my own English to something that bears no real resemblence to English. I probably break all sorts of grammatical rules just to get my point across.

8) I spend so much time on the internet reading blogs and surfing youtube, it's probably really unhealthy. Not having constant wifi helps this disease. And it helps me not read every email that comes into my inbox.

9) I don't have to call people when I am bored. This costs a lot of money.

10) Knitting is really boring when you're bored... because it occupies your hands and not your brain.